The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-12-31

orrAwA.--BEvisIrs IRELAND.
The harbor at Havana il very large, halt
moon shaped, and secure, The outer en-
trance is 50 small that it can scarcely ADM
of more than one vessel at a time. Herr
are Moro Castle, light house aud for
which was mined into rooms into the soiiC
rock and nothing but the treachefy oil It's
officers or famine could ever capture it. TC
the south is another fort. The harbor L
about two miles across, and the water about
60 to 20 feet in depth.
THE CUBAN SLAVE TRADE.
Though interdicted by England, was in q
prosperous condition. Ships were constantly
on the shores of Africa, and their owners
buying or stealing negroes for the Cuban
market, and slave traders were constantly
busy receiving their contraband goods. Cas-
tie Moro was in plain sight of Havana. and
the slave dealers in the city and the officers
Of the fort had signals and te slave ships
others by which easy communication was
kept up. The arrival of ship load and
the number Of negroes alive by these signals
were readily announced from the vessels to
the castle and from the castle to agents in
the city. These slave vessels usually started
with 500 to 600 Of these poor slaves from
Africa, and rarely arrived at Havana with
more than one hundred alive. Although
British men of war were supposed to block
ade the harbor against these Infamous ira
ders yet they were rarely caught, or got
through with such mysterious ease
that it was an "open secret that money
was the key to it. On arriving. the Afri.
cans men, women and children, were all in
a condition of perfect nudity. and before be.
ing marshalled through the city to the
BARR. Coons," or slave markets, they were
allowed each a coffee sack, n hole in the bot.
tom for the head to come out of, and hole
lower down for the arms. In the " barri
coons" they were neatly shaved, their hair
mown smooth, and fed and fattencd and
taught Spanish and English, so as to make
them the more salable. A "cOon" on
shipboard was worth about 500; and when
fixed up in the market on shore she was
worth $500 or $500
THE GREAT RESURRECTION,
In 1872, during Mr.. Russells stay in Gu.
ba, there was an attempted general rising
Of the slaves. For weeks aud months they
hal planned a general destruction of the
white people The slaves on seven planta-
tions only arose, bu. the conspiracy extended
throughout the island One part Of the
scheme was 10 poison all of the soldiers Of
the FIVE regiments who guarded the city.
This was to be done by putting arsenic in
the bread eaten by the troops. The five ba.
kers who supplied the troops were each to
dose their breal on the same morning; and
subsequently q barrel Of arsnic was found
in the possession OF one Of the conspirators
when the ply, hal failed The government
yildicaicd IS power by an awful punish.
ment, Negroes we're arrested everywhere
and marched TO a place north Of Havana on
the coast, called Natanzas; or " buIchery"
where, first AMI last, over Eve thousand ne
groes we're shot down, rs oonspirators. The
only excuse for this wholesale buchery Of
the poor blacks was That as they had a pop.
ula4ion Of Two negroes TO Oae white person
on the island, nothing but strong measures
wsuli keep the conspiratora from breaking
out again aud perhaps with greater success.
THE NEGRO HOLIDAY.
The 9Th Of June every year was called the
"Klugs Holiday" On this day no work
wa done by any negro, not even the wench.
es in the Kitchen. On that day the ladies
Of tie house had 10 10 their own cooking If
they knew how, otherwise they were forced
to fast. At early morning the colored pop
ulation appeared upon the streets dressed
in pq,rioli, style, some were upon stills :;
they beat tOm TOMS, sang strange, weird
,ongs get TO tho music Of the African jingle.
They roafel like lions, growled like tigers,
screamed Ike leoplrds or Knocked the dis
cor laut erie, Of tropical birds They car,
riei with them the peculiar wind instrument
Of their native land and played the ear pier
cing notes such as stimulate their tribes TO
fig 1T in barl.ric battles with their enemies.
Each was dressed in the strange costume Of
his native clan, in the " dark" continent!
Almost every nook and corner Of Africa had
evidently been successfully penetrated by
the daring and merciless slave dealers, in
quest Of human chattels.
The slave usually passed through several
hands, commercially speaking. before he
or she finally found master in Cuba. Gangs
Of kinnppers went through the country
among the Villages Of Africa picking up til,
poor native as the butcher buys sheep OF
cattle, Some they hired for beads and
worthless triukets; others they stole or kid
mapped Some were prisoners captured ii